Acquainted with the Night
by Astralis
Summary: Nick and Sara face every parent's worst nightmare when their daughter Emily goes missing. NS.
1. Chapter One

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ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

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Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. Oh, and, funnily enough, I don't own McDonalds.

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles. Hey, if F. Scott Fitzgerald could take _Tender is the Night_ from Keats' _Ode to a Nightingale_, I can do it too.

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain. 

(Robert Frost)

***

CHAPTER ONE

"Mommy," said six year old Emily Stokes in her most ingratiating tone, "if I'm _really_ good today, can we go to McDonald's tomorrow?" She beamed at her mother's reflection in the rear view mirror.

Sara rolled her eyes as Nick swung the car into the school parking lot. "You're as bad as your father."

"She learnt from the best."

"_Please?_" Emily begged, leaning between the seats to kiss her parents goodbye.

Sara sighed, her eyes meeting Nick's for a split second. "We'll see."

"That means yes!" Emily squealed, kissing her mother on the cheek.

"It means _maybe,_" Sara corrected, kissing her back. "Love you."

"Love you too, Mommy, even if you won't let me go to McDonald's. Bye Daddy. Love you." Emily kissed Nick, too, then leaped out the door, school bag in hand, in pursuit of her friend Libby.

"We'll see you this afternoon," Nick shouted out the window as Emily caught up with Libby, her parents seemingly already forgotten. He put the car in gear again and swung out of the school, heading for the lab. They drove in silence for a while, Nick concentrating on the busy morning traffic, Sara staring out the window barely noticing what they passed. She could see Nick's reflection, albeit weak and transparent, in the window and that was what she was focusing on. Seven years. Seven years to get here.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, abruptly, finally looking at her husband. "I... shouldn't have had a go at you last night."

Nick placed his hand over hers for a second before returning it to the wheel. "I can see where you were coming from. I do leave the bathroom in an awful mess sometimes."

"Yes, but I should have discussed it rationally, not..." Sara winced, remembering some of the things she'd said, or rather, whispered harshly so Emily wouldn't hear. "It's only the bathroom."

"I know." Nick smiled. "And you're a self-confessed control freak and I'm a self-confessed slob and that's bound to cause problems sometimes."

"I just want everything to be perfect," Sara confessed, not for the first time in their seven year relationship. "I've been trying to choose my battles, but..."

"It's not a war, Sara. We don't have battles. At least, I hope we don't. And no one's life is perfect. The harder you try, the worse things will get."

Sara looked at him, knowing logically that he was right, and smiled weakly. "What did I do to deserve you? I don't think there's another man in the world who could put up with me."

Nick pulled the car into the parking lot of the lab. "There's not another woman in the world I'd want to put up with." He grinned at Sara. "Ready to stop being my wife and start being my boss?"

Sara grinned back, glad she'd apologized. "I'm your boss all the time. Just you remember that."

***

Sara was sitting with her feet propped up on her desk, eating an apple as she spent her lunch break with her friend, Savannah Davies. Savannah was several years younger than Sara, and the highest ranked member of the shift after Sara and Nick. She was very smart, and very similar to Sara in a lot of ways.

The phone rang with the particular ring that signaled an in-house call. Sara took her feet off the desk rapidly, as if afraid the caller might see the day shift supervisor doing something so indecorous, and picked up the phone. "Sara Stokes."

"Sara, there's a call for you on line one."

"Okay, Ruth." Sara swallowed the bit of apple in her mouth. "Put them through." She heard the clicking sound of the call being transferred. 

"Sara Stokes."

"Mrs Stokes, this is Jean Adams from Cedar Street Elementary."

__

Emily's school. Sara fought back the sudden urge to panic. "Yes?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Why was she worried? It was probably just a routine phone call. Of some kind. Did schools do that? She couldn't remember from her own school days and Em hadn't been at school long enough... _Calm down_.

"Mrs Stokes – Emily's, uh, disappeared."

"What do you mean she's disappeared?" Sara demanded, in a dangerous voice she barely recognised as her own. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered Savannah's bright green eyes staring at her, concerned. 

"She went out with the others during the lunch break and she hasn't come back to class. None of the children have seen her."

"What about Libby Henderson? She's always with Libby."

"Libby spent lunchtime in the nurse's office with a stomach-ache. We've searched the school and there's been no sign of Emily."

"Have you called the police?"

"Yes, they're on their way."

"All right." Sara realised she had twisted the phone cord around her wrist and was cutting off the blood flow to her hand. She let the cord go. "Look, I'll just get my husband and we'll come down to the school, all right?" Her voice was measured now. Calm. That was good.

"All right. I'm – terribly sorry, Mrs Stokes." 

Not wanting to hear the woman's platitudes, Sara hung up and looked at Savannah. "Well," she said, still in that calm tone, "my daughter's disappeared from school." Her brain suddenly lurching into motion, Sara picked up the phone and dialed reception. "Ruth, it's Sara. Can you put out a call to Nick? I need to see him. Now."

***

Nick was helping a young CSI write up the report for a case they'd just closed when he heard his own name over the intercom. "Nick Stokes, please meet Sara in her office."

Nick met his colleague's eye. "Can you finish this? I'll just go and see what Sara wants."

The young man nodded and Nick hurried out of the room, trying not to be worried. It wasn't like Sara to call him like that. Some nagging doubt suggested something was wrong, and this was only compounded when he opened the door to her office without knocking and discovered Sara sitting behind her desk with her head in her hands and Savannah Davies hovering anxiously nearby. "Sara?"

"I'll – take care of all that stuff," Savannah said hurriedly, with a quick glance at Nick as she almost scurried out of the office.

"Sara, what's happened?" Nick asked, fear clutching at his heart and stomach. "Has something happened to Em?"

Sara shrugged and raised her head. "The school just called. She's disappeared. Went for lunch with the rest of the class, didn't show up again. The police are on their way." She stood up. "I've put Savannah in charge."

"All right." Nick took her arm, needing her comfort as much as she needed his. He felt like his whole world had just collapsed. "Let's go. Who knows," he said, trying to sound hopeful, "they might've found her by the time we get there."

Sara didn't answer.

***

Diane looked at the girl in the back of the van. Somewhere in her mind she realised that the girl wasn't really her baby, wasn't really Melanie, but she looked so much like her... She needed this little girl, this girl with the big brown eyes and the wide grin. She needed her Melanie back.

Diane hadn't wanted to use the chloroform, but the girl hadn't listened, hadn't wanted to go with her mother. Fate had let Diane take the girl. She had been watching the playground as she always did and seen the girl alone, without the giggly friend she was usually with. If Fate didn't want her to have Melanie back, someone would have seen her, stopped her.

Diane wasn't sure where they were going. They had to leave Boston, get away from the imposters who called themselves Melanie's parents. They would head West and she wouldn't stop until she was sure they were safe. LA, maybe. And then they'd start a new life as mother and daughter.

Diane smiled to herself.

***

The shrill ringing of a phone tore through the soft dark quietness of a bedroom in Las Vegas, Nevada. Catherine Willows, feeling highly annoyed and mostly asleep, fumbled for the phone, cursing Warrick's ability to sleep through anything which made less noise than a tornado. "Willows... Grissom... this had better be good..." 

As she listened, Catherine began poking Warrick in the side with one hand, trying to wake him up. He prised one eye open and stared groggily at her as Catherine finished talking to Grissom and hung up, immediately letting loose a string of swear words. "Please don't tell me you just told him we'd go in. We've worked five consecutive doubles and we're entitled to some sleep."

Catherine flopped down on the bed beside him. "I just told him we'd go in."

It was Warrick's turn to swear. "What's so important?"

"Emily's gone missing."

Warrick stared at her. "Nick and Sara's Emily?" When Catherine nodded, he swore again. "Someone's going to have to go through case files looking for someone who might have a motive to hurt them," she said. 

"There's got to be thousands all over the country. Vegas, Dallas, San Francisco, New Hampshire, Boston..."

"I know." Catherine pushed herself out of bed. "We'll have to start with everyone they investigated who's been paroled or released recently."

"And Grissom wants us to do it?"

"He was just calling to let us know. He was going to get officers to do it, but I told him I'd help. If it was Linds..."

"All right. Of course we'll help. But what if it's not personal, what if it's just some freak off the streets who's got her? She could have just run away, gone for a walk, okay, maybe not. Not a six year old. Damn! Life doesn't get any easier for them, does it?"


	2. Chapter Two

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ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

****

Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. And I invented Cedar Street Elementary as well. I have no idea if cedars even grow in Boston.

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles. 

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Huge huge thanks to those people who reviewed chapter one – I hope I can live up to the reviews!

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain...

(Robert Frost)

***

CHAPTER TWO

"A case turned personal for police in Boston, Massachusetts, earlier today when a six year old girl disappeared from school. Emily Nicole Stokes, a pupil at Cedar Street Elementary, is the daughter of prominent criminalists Nick and Sara Stokes of the Boston Crime Lab. Mrs Stokes is the supervisor of the day shift. Before coming to Boston, the couple worked in New Hampshire and Las Vegas, Nevada. Nick Stokes began his career in Dallas, Texas, and Sara Stokes, formerly Sidle, a Harvard graduate, began hers in San Francisco. Police throughout the country are tracking down criminals believed to have a grudge against the couple, which will no doubt be a long and daunting task. Meanwhile, school staff and family friends hope Emily is still alive and well. Mr and Mrs Stokes were not available for comment earlier."

"She still looks like Sara," Warrick remarked, when the news bulletin was over and Greg Sanders had muted the sound. None of them had seen Emily for two years, since attending Nick and Sara's rather belated wedding in Texas. The reporter had shown an obviously recent photo of Emily, who looked like a young Sara, and one of Emily with her parents as well as stock photos of Nick and Sara. 

"They must be devastated," Greg half whispered, turning to the pile of folders in front of him. 

Catherine nodded. "It's going to be a long night. For them and for us."

***

Melanie had woken up. Diane was rather disconcerted to find that her daughter was still not willing to acknowledge her. In fact, Melanie was sitting in the back of the van, sobbing, and the only words Diane could make out were, "I want my mommy."

Spotting a McDonald's ahead, Diane swung the van into the drive-through. McDonald's had always made Melanie cheer up. 

***

The house was too quiet. Having been driven home by Savannah after spending the day at the school and police station answering endless questions, they were finally alone. 

The black Labrador they had so carefully named Orion but Emily insisted on calling Oreo had come running to meet them when they got home. Sara had turned away in tears, unable to face Emily's friend and protector. 

Now they were sitting in the living room, side by side on the sofa, clutching each other's hand in silence, just waiting, waiting, for the phone to ring. Oreo sat at their feet, knowing in the uncanny way that dogs did that something was wrong.

They could go nowhere in the house without being reminded of Emily. There were books and videos in the living room, drawings and photos in the kitchen and Nick and Sara's bedroom, even children's shampoo and soap in the bathroom. 

Sara broke the silence, needing to talk. "She's scared, Nicky."

Nick started. Sara rarely called him Nicky any more.

"All I can think about is how scared she must be. Even if she's just hiding somewhere, even if she's not hurt, she'll be scared. And what if – what if whoever's got her – is hurting her, touching her. She's just a little girl, she's my baby. I don't want the sorts of things that happened to us to happen to Emily, Nicky. I couldn't bear it, I can't..."

Nick put his arms around her and pulled her close up against his chest. "I'm scared too, sweetheart."

"I just want her to come home, Nicky. I hate sitting here and not being able to do anything." Sara looked up at Nick and met his eyes. "We can't lose her. We've lost too much."

Nick rubbed Sara's back gently, trying to calm them both. "She'll be all right. She's got to be."

"But you don't know that."

"We'll get through this, Sara. Just like we got through everything else."

"Honestly?" Sara was brushing tears from her eyes, but there was a trace of the old Sara, the Sara of Vegas days, on her face and in her tone. "I don't know how much more I can cope with, Nicky."

Her words scared him. "Don't give up, Sara. Don't give up on yourself and don't give up on Em. I need you. I love you. We need each other."

Sara buried her face against Nick's chest. "What the hell happened to happily ever after?" she demanded.

Nick's laugh was hollow. Fake. "We'll get it. One day. Maybe when we're eighty."

Sara sighed. "I love you. But I'm so scared."

"I know. Me too." Nick kissed the top of her head and wondered how much longer they would have to wait. 

***

"Here's another possibility," Catherine said, scribbling another name onto the very short list of possibilities. "Scott Shelton. Sara and Grissom put him away almost ten years ago for killing his wife and dumping her body in the mountains. He'd been abusing the wife for years. Got out on parole a few months ago."

Brass nodded. "I remember that case. The two of them sat out all night watching a pig decompose to prove a point. And Sara got really involved. Had a go at the husband – they got into a shouting match in the suspect's house. Grissom had to haul her away." Brass smiled, briefly. "Shelton didn't like Sara, either. I'll have my men check him out."

"Everything we've checked so far has come up negative." Greg sighed, dropping his head onto the desk for a second before sitting upright again and taking a large gulp of coffee. 

"At least we're doing something. I used to look after Emily when she was a baby. She was a beautiful baby. Still is, according to those pictures. At least..." Catherine didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to. They were all thinking the same thing.

"Any luck?" Two graying heads had appeared round the door. Gil Grissom and Al Robbins, who had been in and out all night. 

"Just added Scott Shelton to our list. Remember him? The one with the wife and the bugs."

Grissom smiled tightly. "How could I forget? I wrote an article for _Forensic Entomology_ on that case. Besides, Shelton was cruel and cold-blooded – no remorse at all. He and Sara hated each other from the instant they saw each other. He's on parole then? I hope for everyone's sake he's not the creep who's got Emily."

"I remember the first night Sara brought Emily into the lab," Robbins reminisced, taking a seat beside Greg. "She was so proud of her baby that she brought Emily into the morgue to show me. There were no bodies out at the time, but Nick still had a fit when he heard." 

Everyone laughed, allowing the laughter to ease the tension and worry in the corner of the break room. Sara and Nick had left Vegas about six years ago, but their absence was still felt when the others gathered. Everyone felt some kind of a claim to Emily from having known her even before she was born. They'd all seen so many dead children that it was hard to be hopeful about Emily. In some ways, doing the job that they did could dull your hope.

They could only imagine how Nick and Sara must be feeling.

***

Sara woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. The few minutes of sleep she'd succumbed to had done nothing more than fill her mind with even more vivid images of Emily – Emily happy; Emily hurt; Emily dead. She shook her head, fiercely. 

She had fallen asleep lying against Nick, who was leaning against the arm of the sofa. 

Pushing herself off his warm body, she watched him sleep. He looked peaceful, although she knew that his dreams would be of the same quality as hers. He was still as good-looking as the day she'd met him. Gently stroking her finger across the stubble on his cheek, Sara wondered how long it had been since they'd slept in each other's arms, since they'd made love rather than just had sex. She loved Nick as much as she'd ever done, maybe even more. Life had been hard, but they still had each other. _When_ they had Emily back, Sara decided, they were going on holiday. They'd go to California, take Emily to Disneyland, stay with her parents at Tamales Bay, show Em her old haunts in San Francisco. They'd head back through Las Vegas and Texas. And they'd remember that family was more important than work.

Standing up, shakily, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach because she knew food would just make her ill, Sara wandered slowly down the hallway to Emily's bedroom. The door stood slightly ajar with EMILY spelt across it in decorated wooden letters. Taking a deep breath Sara pushed the door open and switched the light on, closing her eyes as a warm, golden light flooded the room, then opened them slowly.

Everything was just as Emily had left it. The duvet rumpled, her pajamas in a heap on the floor. An old copy of _Anne of Green Gables_ that mother and daughter were reading together sat on the table beside the bed. Over the bed was a corkboard painted lime green – Emily had helped Nick choose the paint. Photos were pinned to it with florescent orange pins, again courtesy of Emily and Nick's colour co-ordination skills. Emily with Oreo. Emily with her parents. Emily as a baby, with Catherine Willows in the break room of the lab in Las Vegas, two year old Emily with Nick's parents, with Sara's parents. Emily in her flower girl outfit from her parents' wedding. Emily with Catherine, Warrick, and Lindsey, all in wedding finery. Emily with her school friends.

Sara sank down onto her daughter's bed, gathering up her pajamas and the battered blue teddy bear Emily slept with every night, holding them in her arms as she wanted to hold her daughter. Suddenly, startling even herself, she began to really cry for the first time since that nightmare had started back in her office at the lab. _Where are you, Emily? I love you. Mommy loves you._

"Sara?"

Nick. In the doorway, sleepy, bleary-eyed, his own eyes welling up with tears as he saw what his wife was holding. Keeping hold of the items in one arm, Sara stretched out the other. "Nicky..."

Sitting on Emily's bed, surrounded by the best memories of her, they held each other and cried.

***

Diane drove on through the darkness. She didn't know exactly where she was headed, but she was sure she'd know when she'd got there. The congealing McDonald's that Melanie had refused was sitting on the seat beside her in case Melanie chose to eat. It worried her that her daughter was behaving like this. She'd allowed for some stress at the beginning, thinking it was only going to be natural that she'd want to go back to the imposters, but Diane had expected Melanie to recognise and accept her own mother much earlier than this. The only explanation was that the imposters had brainwashed her.

Diane drove on, taking her daughter away from those imposters.

***

Emily wasn't asleep, although she had been earlier. She was sitting in a corner of the van floor, her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them.

She was scared, more scared than she'd ever been before, even when her cousin Adam had dared her to climb the huge tree in Adam's backyard in Texas. The strange lady thought her name was Melanie and she wanted Emily to call her Mommy. Emily knew who her Mommy was, her Mommy was the person who read to her from _Anne of Green Gables_ every night before bed, who kissed her and loved her and took her to the park and played games with her.

She'd never call this person Mommy.

Emily squeezed her eyes tight shut and tried to brave, thinking of her Mommy and Daddy and Oreo. She knew Mommy and Daddy would be missing her and trying to find her, but she didn't know if they ever would. 

***

Jim Brass shook his head. The police had checked everyone on the list they'd painstakingly compiled of suspects. Everyone, Scott Shelton included, had an alibi for the time Emily went missing. They'd also heard that San Francisco had drawn a blank on their list. No one had any obvious suspects or leads, and little Emily Stokes was still missing.

"Well." Gil Grissom looked at the team. "There's nothing more we can do. Go home." He looked round at Al, who had joined them in the break room; at Catherine and Warrick, sitting side by side clutching mugs of coffee; at Greg, who had become one of his best CSIs and had learnt a lot of what he knew from Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle; at Alex and Rob, who had joined the lab after Nick and Sara left and had never known Emily. "If I get any news, I'll call you all. Go home," he repeated, watching as they all filed out silently.

Grissom wondered what Nick and Sara were doing now. He had loved Sara once, but he'd wasted his chance with her and she'd turned to Nick. Sometimes, going home to his empty townhouse, he'd wondered what might have been if he hadn't been such a jerk. He had to suppose it had all worked out for the best, for all of them. It didn't stop him from regretting.

***

Back in Boston, Sara and Nick had fallen into an uneasy sleep once more, holding each other on their daughter's bed. Oreo slept in the doorway, waiting for his young friend to return and watching out for his masters.


	3. Chapter Three

****

ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

****

Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. 

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles. 

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far.

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain...

(Robert Frost)

***

CHAPTER THREE

Nick refused to open his eyes when he woke up, refused to let himself be jolted back to reality. He'd dreamt that he and Sara and Emily had all been at some beach, somewhere, happy and carefree. _If only_. He and Sara were in Boston, and Emily was no one knew where, definitely scared, maybe in pain, maybe having awful things done to her, maybe even dead.

He didn't feel quite so tough any more, not without the burden of being strong for Sara. He could tell from the feel of her chest against his that she was still asleep, holding him closely, her head resting against his shoulder. Nick tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, still without opening his eyes. She may have been bossy, demanding, work obsessed, and at times, utterly infuriating, but she was also passionate, loyal, dedicated to cracking cases, dedicated to her husband and daughter... and he loved her. 

__

"Nick, I have to talk to you."

"Sara? What's the matter? Are you all right?"

She sat on his sofa, staring at the carpet, twisting her hands together. "I'm pregnant. I... yeah. I just..."

"Nick, say something."

"Nick, oh god, you're mad, aren't you? I'm on the pill but I don't know what went wrong, I swear I've been taking them."

"Nick, I'm telling you this now, I'm not getting rid of this baby. Even if you don't want it."

"Nick, please._ You have got to talk to me..."_

"Wow. Sara, wow. I... wow. I'm not mad... I just don't know what to say."

He'd never forget that, the day he learnt that despite all the reluctant expectations he'd held for so long, he was going to be a father. 

__

"You're nearly there, Sara. Another push." The midwife was calm, despite the fact that Sara had been in labor for nearly twenty eight hours.

Sara was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't..."

"You can," he said, wiping her face for the millionth time with a wet facecloth. "I'm here, Sara. Come on, I promise you can do it. Can't you give_ her something?" he shouted, again, at the midwife, as Sara cried out in anguish._

"It's too late now," the midwife told him, soothingly, as she had done for the last few hours. "She refused the drugs for too long. It's almost over. It's almost over, Sara. Push again... good girl."

She hadn't refused the drugs so much as thrown them. Part of Sara's belief that she was invulnerable and her inability to let people see her weaknesses. He hated to see her suffer like this.

"Sara, it's the head." Excitement gripped him. "Sara, I can see our baby's head."

She smiled, weakly. "Good." She pushed again, and again, clutching his hand so tightly he wondered if the bones would simply disintegrate. 

The high pitched wail of a newborn baby filled the small room.

"Congratulations. You've got a little girl." The midwife passed him a bundle wrapped in a soft white towel and he stared down at it. A baby. His_ baby. Their little girl. Reluctantly, he placed the baby in Sara's arms, watching the look of wonder and awe that wiped the pain and exhaustion from her face. He held them both there in that small white room, looking at his two girls, his two princesses. Sara and Emily._

And where was that second princess now? Nick felt sick. He'd seen so many abused and tormented children, so much pain and suffering. Ever since he'd heard that Emily had gone missing his mind had tortured him, putting the things that had happened to him onto Emily. She was so little, so beautiful. 

He and Sara had lost so much. He thought of what Sara had said the night before. If something bad really had happened to Emily, he didn't believe either of them could cope. If something bad really had happened to Emily, it was possible that he and Sara would both just give up.

Sara whimpered in her sleep, clenching her hand in his shirt. Nick began automatically rubbing lazy circles on her back, trying to soothe her but knowing from long experience that it wouldn't be much use. 

Nick opened his eyes carefully and looked at Sara. She still had Emily's teddy bear, Blue, encircled in the arm which wasn't holding onto him. _We need you, Emily. We need you to come home so your Mommy and I can smile again._ Nick tried to beam the thought to his daughter, wherever she was.

He looked round the room that they had decorated so carefully when they moved in, remembering Sara's amused disgust over some of the colors he and Emily had picked out. This was Emily's room, her home. 

She had to come home.

***

Diane finally let the van come to a stop in the long term parking lot of the Chicago International Airport. She had decided, reluctantly, that she could not keep driving West with Melanie. They were going to have to fly. The sooner they started their new life, the better. The sooner Melanie would forget about those imposters who called themselves Melanie's parents.

Melanie was half-asleep, almost limp as Diane hauled her out of the van, sitting her down on a luggage trolley. She loaded up the bag of her own clothes and the bag of things she had so carefully bought for Mel, and headed into the terminal.

Diane knew she would have to be careful here. Melanie's picture had no doubt been on television. Luckily it was early morning, and Melanie looked like any other sleepy child forced out of bed against her will. Diane could only keep her fingers crossed that her poor, brainwashed daughter wouldn't have a sudden burst of energy and cause a scene. Who knew what the other passengers would think? She would have to trust that Melanie wouldn't let her down.

She had first thought that they'd fly straight to Los Angeles, but had changed her mind. If, by any chance, someone noticed Melanie, she didn't want the imposters to know what city to look in. She'd have to throw them off her trail.

Diane spoke confidently, yet with a sad lilt in her voice, to the ticket clerk. "I need two tickets for your first flight to Las Vegas. My mother has just died, you see, and I'm in an awful hurry. I need to help make the funeral arrangements."

"I'm terribly sorry," said the clerk, politely, tapping into a computer as she spoke. "I can get you and your daughter on the seven-ten Las Vegas Air flight to McCarran International. It's the first flight going out of here this morning, and there are a few spare seats." She named the price, and when Diane paid, handed over two tickets made out to Diane and Melanie Cooper. 

"Thank you very much for your help." Diane checked the luggage in and pushed the trolley away, Melanie still slumped on it. They'd fly to Las Vegas, blend in there for a few days, which shouldn't be too hard. She'd deliberately chosen a tourist town close to LA so she and Melanie could drive there, easily, ready to start a new life together.

***

Two words made their way through the fog of grief, fear, hunger and exhaustion in Emily's mind. _Las Vegas_. That was where Mommy and Daddy used to live. Aunt Catherine and Uncle Warrick and Lindsey were there.

If she could get to Las Vegas, maybe she could find Aunt Catherine, and Aunt Catherine would look after her and help her find her Mommy and Daddy. She knew she wasn't in Boston any more. That meant she'd have to go to Las Vegas. 

TBC...

****

A/N:sorry this is short, but it felt right like this.


	4. Chapter Four

****

ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

****

Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. 

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles. 

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Huge thanks to all the wonderful reviewers!

Oh, and just so you know, I'm made Lindsey 17 in this, which I think is about right.

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain...

(Robert Frost)

***

CHAPTER FOUR

Catherine was extremely glad to be home. She'd spent the night reliving old cases, remembering criminals, victims, all the pain and anguish they'd seen. 

"Still thinking about Emily?" Warrick asked gently, unlocking the front door.

"Yes and no." Catherine shrugged. "It was just going through all those old case files. I've – we've – spent years of our lives dealing with things every day that would disgust most ordinary people. I realised I'd stopped thinking of the victims as people, just as another piece in another puzzle. But Emily, if she's, well, dead – she's not just a puzzle piece. She's someone's daughter and she's got parents who are probably beside themselves with worry. She's someone who's loved. And I was wondering how I'd forgotten that. All those victims have someone who loves them. If Emily _is_ dead – then I don't want the CSIs who have to deal with it to treat her like just another victim because she deserves more than that. I think our victims do too."

"I've never seen you – or any of us – treat a victim with anything other than respect." Warrick looked slightly puzzled.

"Maybe not treat, but, oh, I don't know." Catherine sighed and turned to Warrick for a hug. "I'm just all mixed up. I keep thinking about Nick and Sara. If Emily doesn't make it or if something's happened to her – I don't think they'll cope."

"They'll cope," Warrick whispered. "They have to."

***

Sara found that the not knowing was the hardest part, just as she had always imagined it would be. Some said that when you didn't know there could be hope, but Sara had learnt long ago that if she didn't hope for anything she wouldn't be disappointed. She'd trained herself not to give into hope. So she hovered in a kind of numb limbo, wanting to hurt someone at the same time as she wanted to burrow into Nick's arms and stay there.

She just wanted her little girl back.

Savannah came round with the detective in charge of Emily's case. There had been no new developments overnight; the crime labs in Boston, New Hampshire, Vegas, Dallas and San Francisco had all come up negative on their lists of potential kidnappers, although as the detective said, they couldn't rule out associates or accomplices. A few calls to the hotline set up for sightings of Emily had turned out to be false leads. Brown haired, brown eyed young girls were very common. 

The upshot of it all was, the only person who had any idea where Emily could possibly be was the person who had taken her.

"Captain Brass of the LVMPD asked me to tell you that they're all thinking of you and praying for your little girl," the detective told them.

Faces flashed across Sara's mind. Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Greg, Brass, Doc Robbins... she knew they meant well, but they had no idea. 

As soon as the detective and Savannah (who had tried without success to coax them into eating) had gone, Sara threw the small purple candle on the table beside her at the opposite wall, enjoying the sound it made smashing into the wood.

"Sara?"

"They have no idea!" she yelled, standing up for no reason other than that she wanted to really shout and she couldn't do that so well sitting down. "All these people muttering platitudes, pretending they know how we feel when really they've got no bloody idea! I don't want their sentiments!"

Nick stood up to face her. To her surprise, he yelled back. "Look, I know you've got some misguided idea that people can't actually care about you or what you're going through. Stop playing the martyr, Sara. They're your friends, believe it or not, and they're trying to support you. You're always pushing people away. You push me away. You want my support now, but next time something comes up that doesn't involve me you'll retreat inside your shell again. How the hell do you think that makes me feel?"

They stared at each other, trembling, furious. Sara couldn't think, couldn't form sentences in her mind. She knew that if she opened her mouth without having a correctly formed sentence, she would most likely yell abuse at Nick. The person who loved her more than anyone else in the world, the person who had just told her a lot of things that she knew perfectly well were true.

Nick took advantage of her silence. "When we got married, we married for ever. For better, for worse. This is worse. We've been through so much, Sara, but whenever something concerns you alone you shut the rest of the world out and try to cope with it by yourself. You shut me out when all I want to do is help you." Nick's voice was shaking, but his tone was firm and gentle. "You shut other people out. You've got friends. People who care about you." With quivering hands, Nick brushed tears from Sara's cheeks. "I know you find that hard to believe, but trust me. I know. Savannah cares about you. The guys back in Vegas care about you. I bet Catherine's shed more than a few tears, thinking about Lindsey and thinking about us. We'll get through this together, no matter what happens to Emily. But we'll need our friends. Everyone needs friends. Even Sara Sidle."

"Stokes," she corrected firmly, her face twisted as she tried not to cry.

"I know. I know." Nick gathered her up in his arms. "I'm here for you, Sara. I'll do everything I can to support you. But I need your support, too."

Sara nodded against Nick's shoulder, her tears soaking through his shirt. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

***

"Hey." Despite the anxiety in her house, Lindsey Willows couldn't resist smiling as she opened the door to her best friend, Troy Randall. 

"Hey Linds."

"Come in. Mom and Warrick are asleep - "

Troy nodded, used to the bizarre hours Lindsey's mother and her partner worked. 

"Do you want some lunch before we go?" she asked quietly.

"I thought we could get something in town, if that's OK with you."

"Yeah, it's fine. We've hardly got anything to eat anyway. Mom and Warrick were going to go shopping last night, but they got called into work instead." Lindsey shrugged, scribbled out a note, and grabbed her purse. "Shall we go, then?"

Once in the car Troy had saved so hard for, he turned to her as he started the engine. "Linds, there was something on the news last night about a little girl who went missing in Boston?"

Lindsey nodded.

"They said her parents were criminalists who used to work in Vegas?" Troy's voice was curious.

"Yeah, they used to work with Mom and Warrick. My Aunt Sara and Uncle Nick, the ones whose wedding I went to in Texas a couple of years ago."

"So you know the little girl?"

"Emily? Yeah. I haven't seen her since the wedding, though. She's cute. I hope she's all right. That was what Mom and Warrick were doing last night, trying to find people who Nick and Sara had put away who might be on the streets again and might have taken Emily in revenge." Lindsey shuddered, with the experienced air of one who had grown up with CSIs. "They didn't have any luck. Emily's still missing."

"It must be scary for your parents." Troy used the term without thinking. "When it's someone they know. Especially a kid."

"Yeah. Uncle Nick's one of Warrick's best friends – Warrick was Nick's best man at the wedding. And Mom always feels guilty about Sara because she was never very nice to her while she was in Vegas." Lindsey half giggled, involuntarily. "They got on all right, sometimes, then they got to be better friends after Uncle Nick and Aunt Sara moved to New Hampshire when I was about ten."

"I thought they lived in Boston?"

"They do. They lived in New Hampshire for a couple of years, working at the crime lab there. They left because – well, they felt like a change, I think. And Aunt Sara got offered a supervisory position at the Boston crime lab." Lindsey glanced over at her best friend. "I think they've had a really bad few years," she confided, needing to talk and knowing Troy would keep it to himself. "After they moved to New Hampshire they tried to have another baby. Uncle Nick has a big family, and Aunt Sara thought kids should have at least one sibling. Besides, they just wanted another baby. But it didn't work. I didn't really understand what Mom and Warrick were talking about at the time when I used to overhear things - " 

Troy raised one eyebrow.

"OK – when I was eavesdropping. But I think there were a few miscarriages, like maybe three or four. With the last one they were just getting out of the danger zone for miscarriages and they'd started thinking that maybe this baby would live. But then that one died, too, and Aunt Sara got an infection and she was in the hospital for about a month. I think she had a bit of a breakdown, and Emily was only about one and a half and they didn't really have any friends in New Hampshire, so Uncle Nick had to look after them both. When Aunt Sara got better, they moved to Boston.

"And everything was going fine in Boston, and they were talking about getting married in a few months, when Uncle Nick found out his mother was dying of cancer. Uncle Nick's the youngest of her kids and he was her baby, and she'd always been a bit disappointed that Nick and Sara had Emily out of wedlock, and then upset because they didn't have another baby. I don't know if she knew that Emily was never planned and about the miscarriages. But Nick wanted to give her something to look forward to, so they moved their wedding date forwards and got married in Texas.

"Nick's mother died three weeks later," Lindsey continued. "That was two years ago. They had a fairly peaceful two years, and now this. It's not fair. They're good people. And Emily's just a kid, she didn't deserve to be taken. I heard Mom saying to Warrick when they came home this morning – they woke me up – that she didn't think Nick and Sara would cope if Emily - " Much to her surprise, Lindsey found she couldn't continue her sentence. 

Troy glanced sideways at her. "We don't have to go to Circus Circus, Linds. Not if you don't want to."

"No, I do. I haven't been for years. It's just – I don't really know Aunt Sara and Uncle Nick, but they're really good people, and they really care about Emily. They must be feeling awful."

Smiling gently, Troy took one hand off the wheel and squeezed Lindsey's shoulder. "You're a very nice person, Lindsey Willows, did you know that?" Removing his hand, he said seriously. "They'll be OK. They'll all be OK."

"I hope so." 

TBC...


	5. Chapter Five

****

ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

****

Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. I also don't own McCarran Airport or Circus Circus, both of which really exist in Vegas.

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles.

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain...

(Robert Frost)

CHAPTER FIVE

Diane had successfully rented a car at McCarran and gotten a surprisingly co-operative Melanie into it. Perhaps her daughter was starting to come around, Diane thought, relieved.

Perhaps a few days somewhere exciting like Las Vegas would do the trick. Diane drove around town, looking for something to do to bring Melanie out of her shell. She itched to visit some of the casinos, get some perspective, stop worrying about Melanie for a bit, but that wasn't an option. Not with a child in tow... Circus Circus. The perfect solution.

Pulling into the parking lot, Diane surveyed her small daughter. She'd changed Melanie's clothes yesterday when she was still out from the chloroform. The jeans and T-shirt she was now wearing were a bit crumpled, but they'd do for a theme park. After the park, she and Melanie would check into a motel somewhere. Get some proper sleep.

Diane felt a small bubble of excitement. It wouldn't be long before she'd be a real mother again.

Lindsey and Troy had finished watching the show at Circus Circus, and were wandering around amongst the coconut shies, clowns, and everything else. Lindsey was eating candy floss, happily letting it melt into sugar on her tongue.

Troy shuddered. "I don't know how you can eat that stuff."

Lindsey poked out her tongue to display the heap of pink sugar. "I've got a sweet tooth."

Troy grimaced. "So I see."

"I haven't been here for ages," she reminisced. "Mom brought me and four friends here for my birthday when I turned nine. I got a Bridal Barbie that year. I thought it was wonderful and I was totally _scandalised_ when Mom told me Aunt Sara didn't know what one was."

"I can just picture you playing with a Bridal Barbie," Troy grinned.

"Oh, be quiet." Lindsey went to swat him on the arm with her free hand, but stopped, staring at a small child. "_Oh my goodness._"

"Lindsey?"

"That's Emily Stokes. I swear it is."

"Here? In Las Vegas? Linds, are you _sure?_"

"_Positive_. Look!" A clown had just passed the girl a candy bar and a grin had briefly flitted across her face. "That's Aunt Sara's smile. I remember from the wedding. Come _on!_" Lindsey had started to charge towards the girl, and realising Troy wasn't following, grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her.

The little girl hadn't moved. She seemed to be looking around, simply overwhelmed, and was clutching the candy bar.

"Hi," said Lindsey gently, dropping down to the girl's eye level. "Are you Emily Stokes?"

The girl stared blankly.

"I'm Lindsay Willows. Do you remember me?"

The girl stared some more, and swallowed. "Are you – Aunt Catherine's daughter?"

"Yes! You _are _Emily, aren't you?"

"My Mommy and Daddy say I shouldn't talk to strangers."

"I'm not a stranger. I'm Aunt Catherine's daughter. I'm Lindsey. And this is Troy."

"Can you help me find my Mommy and Daddy?" Emily looked like she was about to cry.

"I bet I can." Lindsey's mind was working a mile a minute. There was no _way_ Emily had gotten from her elementary school in Boston to Circus Circus in Las Vegas all by herself. They had to get the person who had kidnapped her. "Can you tell me how you got here?"

"On a plane and in a car with a lady," Emily babbled, her bottom lip quivering.

Lindsey picked the girl up and rested her on her hip, holding her close as her mother had done. "Where's the lady now?" she asked.

"She went in there." Emily gestured towards the casino. "She said I have to stay here."

"All right." Lindsey looked at Troy over Emily's head. "Troy and I are going to take you to the security guards, who are men like police, all right? They'll ask you what the lady looks like and they'll go in the casino and find her. Then we'll go to the police and call your Mommy and Daddy, and then Aunt Catherine and Uncle Warrick and Troy and I will look after you until your parents can come. All right?"

Emily nodded, burying her head in Lindsey's shoulder and beginning to cry. Staggering slightly under the weight but refusing to put her down, Lindsey let Troy lead them to the nearest security guard.

"Mom? It's me."

Catherine blinked, blurry-eyed. This business with phones ringing and waking her from a perfectly nice sleep was beginning to get to her. "Linds? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Lindsey paused for dramatic impact. "I'm at the police station."

Catherine was suddenly very wide awake. "What the hell are you doing there? Are you sure nothing's wrong."

"I'm positive. It's very right. Guess who Troy and I found in Circus Circus?"

"Goodness, Lindsey, I don't know. Is there a point to this, honey, or did you ring just to disturb my sleep?"

"There's a point. You'd better get out of bed. And Warrick, too, because there's someone here who sort of wants to see you."

Catherine could tell her daughter was enjoying this. Lindsey had a rather large dramatic streak. "Lindsey Elizabeth Willows. _Get to the point right now_ or I will hang up on you."

"All right. Mom, Troy and I found Emily Stokes at Circus Circus. She's at the police station with us now. The police are trying to track down the woman who kidnapped her," Lindsey announced triumphantly.

Warrick was blinking.

"You and Troy found _Emily Stokes_ in _Circus Circus?_" Catherine demanded, watching Warrick sit bolt upright.

"Yup. Can you please come down here, she doesn't really remember me."

"All right. All right. We'll be there soon." Catherine hung up and turned to Warrick.

"Lindsey and Troy found Emily in Circus Circus," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Apparently!" Catherine scrambled out of bed and began getting dressed. She wasn't complaining about being woken up any more.

"Do you want to get it, or shall I?" Nick asked, as he and Sara stared at the ringing phone.

"You can get it," she whispered.

With every hour, every ring of the phone, they dreaded more and more the bad news that they had begun to believe was inevitable.

"Nick Stokes," he said, hoarsely. "_Catherine?_"

Sara stared at him.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. She's in _Vegas?_"

Sara grabbed Nick's arm. He turned to her, the largest grin she'd ever seen splitting his features, and then she knew. "Catherine's got her!" He cried. "She's in Vegas, she's all right. Cath, put her on."

The familiar, childish voice that they had dreamed of hearing filled the phone as they both tried to listen at once, holding each other. "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Emily? Oh my God, Emily, oh, sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy have missed you so much." Their words fell over each other in a torrent. Neither of them knew who was saying what.

Emily was crying. "A lady made me go to sleep and she took me in a van and then on a plane and I was at the Circus Circus place and Lindsey was there and she rescued me."

"Did you hurt you, Emily?" Both Sara and Nick held their breath.

"No, but I was scared, and I'm hungry."

That was Emily, all right.

"Where are you now, Em?"

"At the p'lice station with Lindsey and Mr Jim and Aunt Catherine and Uncle Warrick and all the other people. The lady's here too but Mr Jim said she's with the p'lice. She was kind of nice to me, but she said my name was Melanie and she said she was my Mommy and I knew she wasn't and I just wanted you."

"We wanted you too, princess. We have missed you so much." Nick saw that Sara couldn't go on, so he took over. "I'm sure Mr Jim or someone will give you something to eat if you ask nicely. Mommy and I are going to have to talk to Mr Jim, but I promise you we will get on the first plane to Las Vegas and we will see you very soon, all right? Aunt Catherine and Uncle Warrick and Lindsey will look after you until we get there."

"I want to see you."

"I know. I know. I love you. Mommy loves you too. We'll be there as soon as we can. Can Daddy talk to Mr Jim now, darling?"

"OK. I miss you, Daddy."

Nick squeezed Sara tight, knowing that finally she was crying tears of joy. "I can't believe it," she whispered, looking up at him, eyes shining. "Alive and well. Tell me I'm not dreaming."

"You're not dreaming," Nick replied.

"Brass."

"Mr Jim!" Nick said, exuberantly. He knew he wouldn't be able to think of Brass as anything other than Mr Jim for a very long time, if ever. "Is she really all right?"

"She's physically fine, just hungry – apparently she refused to eat – and she's in fairly good spirits. Clinging to Lindsey, but I'm sure she'll be much better when you get here."

"And you've got the kidnapper in custody?"

"Yes. Diane Cooper. She swears that Emily is her daughter, Melanie, and that you are imposters who've brainwashed her daughter. She left her at the fairground games and that at Circus Circus while she went into the casino, and Lindsey found her. Mrs Cooper got out of the casino when she saw the security guards searching, but the police caught her in her rental car. We've got her on kidnapping and child endangerment, so far."

"Oh," said Nick, blankly.

"She'll be having a psych evaluation."

"I'm glad. Look, Sara and I will be on the first flight to Vegas. Will you keep Lindsey at the station until then?"

"Of course." Someone said something in the background. "Catherine says you can all stay with them for a couple of days."

"Tell her thanks." Nick glanced at Sara, who was calling the airport from her cell phone. "I can't believe you've got her and she's all right. I can't believe this woman took her to Las Vegas, of all places. And thank goodness Lindsey saw her and recognised her." The enormity of the situation swept over Nick and he felt himself clutching Sara to keep himself from collapsing. Emily was only safe because of several coincidences. "Sara says we've got seats on a flight that lands in Vegas at ten minutes to five, your time."

"We'll have your little girl at the airport."

"Thanks, Mr Jim. We'd better go pack. I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Nick. Give my love to Sara."

Standing alone together, Nick and Sara stared at each other, each trying to comprehend what the last few minutes had brought. "Oh – my – God," Sara said, slowly.

Nick hugged her and kissed her forehead. "We're going to be all right," he said simply.

"You're right." Sara broke into a smile. "Come on, let's get moving. We'll need Em's clothes – and we'd better call Savannah, get her to feed Oreo - "

TBC....


	6. Chapter Six

****

ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT

****

Disclaimer: Anyone/anything you recognise belongs to the people at CBS. I don't own Nick and Sara, unfortunately. I do get to lay claim to Emily, Savannah, Troy, Diane, and anything else you don't recognise. 

****

Author's Note:While this is a sequel to _Building Castles_, you don't really have to have read that to understand this one. Of course, I recommend you read it, anyway...

The phrase used for the title, _Acquainted With the Night_, is borrowed from the Robert Frost poem of the same name in accordance with my tradition of pinching other people's phrases for my titles. 

All constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Big thanks to my reviewers, you're all wonderful!

__

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain – and back in rain...

(Robert Frost)

***

CHAPTER SIX

Lindsey clutched her new friend to her as they all stared at the arrivals gate. According to the computer screens, flight 3409 from Boston had just landed.

"Mommy!" Emily's scream was earsplitting. "Daddy!" She wrenched herself from Lindsey's arms and flung herself at her parents, who were both running to meet her. The whole Stokes family was on the floor in the middle of the airport, holding on to each other, laughing and crying at once.

Lindsey felt tears come to her eyes. Glancing sideways at her mother, she saw that Catherine had reacted in the same way. Smiling, Warrick put an arm around each of them. Jim Brass standing beside them, they watched the family reunion. 

Eventually the three Stokes' disentangled themselves and stood up, Nick carrying Emily, Sara with one hand on her daughter's back as if unwillingly to let her go, which, Lindsey reflected, she probably was. Brass went after the bags they appeared to have forgotten, before someone called in a bomb threat.

Sara threw her arms around Lindsey, hitting Warrick in the process. "Thank God. You saved her, thank God you saw her, Lindsey."

Finding she was rather uncomfortable with having the usually tough Sara Stokes almost crying on her shoulder, Lindsey awkwardly hugged her back. "It's all right, Aunt Sara. I'm glad she's all right." She was most relieved when Sara decided to move on and hug Warrick and Catherine as well. It turned out Uncle Nick wanted to hug Lindsey as well, but at least he'd stopped crying.

"Come on," Warrick said, eventually. "Let's get out of here."

***

Night was falling over the city before they finally got away from the police station. There had been formalities to go to, and the media to cope with. Nick and Sara consented, reluctantly, to a brief interview before the camera crews turned their attention to Lindsey, who was insisting that she hadn't done anything, really.

Brass and some uniforms cleared a pathway out of the station and they hurried along it, Nick rejoicing in the weight of Emily in his arms, and piled into two cars. Brass drove Warrick and Lindsey home while Catherine fussed over Nick and Sara, who insisted on both sitting in the back with Emily.

"You can have the guest room," Catherine said, as everyone climbed slowly out of the cars back at her place, Nick still carrying a very sleepy Emily. "Lindsey, shift your old trundle bed in there and get some sheets on it while I make dinner... Sara, are you still a vegetarian?"

"Cath, we're fine, really. We can just order some pizza. Get to work."

"No, Grissom says he can cope without us until you're all settled," she said firmly, bustling into the kitchen. "Now don't worry about anything."

"I'll help her," Warrick nodded, following, and Lindsey went off to get the trundle bed, leaving Nick, Sara, and Emily alone.

Nick sank down onto the sofa. Sara sat beside him and Nick gently lowered his daughter so she was lying on their laps. Tears came to Sara's eyes as she stroked Emily's hair, and Nick realised she was singing the lullaby she had sung Emily so many times as a baby. They watched Emily fall asleep, again as they had done so often when she was a baby. 

"I can't believe she's alive," Sara whispered, her head dropping onto Nick's shoulder. Nick wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed her before nestling his head against hers. 

"Believe it. It's true. It's over."

"And we can get back to normal?"

"As normal as we ever get."

A smile spread across Sara's face. "That's true." There was silence as they both regarded their sleeping daughter. "We can be a family again now," Sara half whispered. "I don't want to push you away anymore."

"Good." Nick kissed her again. "Love you. And Emily."

"You too."

***

"This wasn't how we'd planned on returning to Las Vegas," Sara remarked, watching Emily chasing Greg Sanders' young son around Catherine and Warrick's back yard. Emily was constantly throwing glances at her parents and coming over for hugs, kisses, and reassurance, but other than that she seemed to regard the whole thing as a big adventure. 

"Well, it's been good to see you again," Grissom remarked. "Though I'm sorry about the circumstances. Truly sorry."

Nick nodded. "It's over now, thank goodness. Diane Cooper's probably going to be in that psych center for years."

"What will you do now?" Greg asked, holding hands with his wife, Amy. 

"We're flying back to Boston on Wednesday. Emily will have to go back to school – if we can let her – and we've got to go back to work. We're going to take some time off in the next school holidays, take Em to California to go to Disneyland and see Sara's parents. I guess we're just going to have to get back to normal," Sara said, still watching Emily, who had caught Ryan and was tickling him. "She's tough. She's coping. We'll just have to keep a close eye on her."

"You'd better stop in Las Vegas on the way back," Catherine said firmly.

"Definitely. We'd like to keep in touch a bit better now. I guess – I realised how important friends are," Sara said quietly. "Besides, Emily loves you and Warrick, and Linds and even Troy, and we can't forget her 'Mr Jim'."

"I'm proud of that name," Brass said defiantly, as Greg complained loudly about the fact that he wasn't loved, too.

"She doesn't know you that well," Nick pointed out. "But we're going to give her a chance to do that."

"You'd better." Greg caught Nick's eye and they both laughed, the laughter spreading to the others as they watched Lindsey and Troy join in the tickle competition. 

As the evening drew on, the conversation turned to old times, the days when Sara and Nick had worked in Las Vegas.

"I remember the day Sara arrived," Nick reminisced. "I'd just been throwing dummies off a casino roof..."

They talked until the night shift really had to go to work. They left, taking Ryan with them, and Lindsey and Troy went to meet some friends for dinner. Nick, Sara and Emily were left alone under the darkening sky, holding each other on the damp grass.

"Mommy?" said Emily. "Can we go to McDonalds with Lindsey and Troy and Ryan tomorrow?"

Sara kissed her daughter's head. "Of course we can, darling."

THE END

****

A/N_: _Well, it's over. This was a different kind of CSI fic for me – it actually had a plot! Any comments about what you did/didn't like about the plot would be great. Things didn't quite go as I'd planned, but when do they ever? I had lots of fun with "grownup" Lindsey – she wasn't supposed to be in it at all, at first, but she turned up, complete with Troy, and I liked her, so in she went.

Big thanks to all those of you who reviewed. I really do appreciate it.


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